More and more, it seems, it's the unscripted, unguarded moments in candidates for public office that are making the difference, be they botched joke or Macaca moment. Today in Iowa, Hillary Clinton may well have had her own: An open-mic snafu that broadcast her singing along to the National Anthem, and none to tunefully. "Iowa Idol!" screams the headline at Drudge, but even if it's meant to be snide, it misses the mark because the clip is charming, winning and utterly endearing. For someone with a rep for being calculating and controlled, this unguarded moment presents a Hillary at her patriotic best, less concerned with how off-tune she might be (and, let it be said, she is) than with singing along to the national anthem, just for herself, just because she's moved to. It's a completely humanizing moment, and almost bullet-proof because, besides her singing voice, there's nothing else for an aspiring Simon Cowell on the right to criticize, considering that what this clip really captures is a genuine moment of patriotism.* The clip makes her seem far more real and approachable than "let's chat!" ever could, and may just result in more people rooting for her to go all the way, just like we're rooting for her to hit that high note on "o'er the land of the free" -- which, by the way, she does.
Advertisement